Lt. Gen. Mordechai Gur (1974-1978)

Mordechai Gur was born in 1930 in Jerusalem; in his teens he joined the ranks of the Haganah. During the War of Independence (1947) he served in the Mechanized Raid Battalion of Negev Brigade (in the Palmach organization), where he fought against the Egyptian army and took part in the major operations to expel it from land.

In 1951 he held command and training positions at the Nahal Command Headquarters. In 1954 he commanded a company in the Paratroopers Brigade and took part in many retaliation operations, he participated in a raid on the Khan Yunis police force as part of Operation Elkayam, and was awarded the Medal of Valor. In 1956 he commanded the 88th Battalion of the Parachuted Nahal Brigade, the height of which was his participation in the Sinai War and in the battle against the Egyptian commando force. In 1957 Served as Deputy Commander of the Paratroopers Brigade. During 1959 he studied in France. In 1961 he served as the Commanded of the Golani Brigade and as a commander in the Command and Staff Academy. The peak of his service as Commanded of the Golani Brigade  was the raid on the Syrian post at Nokayev, east of the Sea of ​​Galilee, as part of Operation Snunit. During 1963 he served as Head of the Operations Department in the General Staff. In 1965 he commanded the Command and Staff Academy and the reserve Paratrooper Brigade. During the Six Day War, he commanded the brigade in the fighting in ​​East Jerusalem, and commanded difficult battles against the Jordanian army, particularly at Ammunition Hill. After the encirclement of the Old City he commanded the forces entering the city, through the Lions' Gate. In 1967 he served as the military governor of the Gaza Strip and northern Sinai Peninsula. Under his command, the IDF fought against the Palestinian terrorist organizations, while commanding the civil administration of the Gaza Strip and in El Arish. During 1969 he commanded the Reserve Division in 143. Then, he commanded the Northern Command. His term of office was characterized by thwarting terrorist infiltrations from Lebanon and Syria, and raiding against the Fatah strongholds on the slopes of Mount Dov and Mount Hermon. In 1972  he served as the attaché in the US. During his time in the US, discussions with government officials and the American defense establishments to provide military assistance to the IDF during the Yom Kippur War were the main focus. In 1974 he was reappointed Commander of the Northern Command and led the War of Attrition in the Syrian enclave and Mount Hermon.

Later on he was he was appointed 10th Chief of Staff. During his term in office he worked to rehabilitate the IDF after the Yom Kippur War and focused on the processes of building manpower and strengthening the IDF in light of the lessons from the war. Furthermore, he led the IDF's fight against Palestinian terror along the borders and strengthened the defense systems along the northern border. Some of the leading examples for the struggle against terror are Operation Entebbe, to rescue the Israeli hostages whose plane was hijacked to Uganda, Operation Litani, response to the Coastal Road massacre. In 1978 he resigned from the army.

In 1979 he served as a management position in the "Koor" concern. In 1981 he became a Knesset member for the Avoda party and was a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. In 1984 he served as health minister in the unity government. In 1986 he was a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. In 1988 he served as a minister without portfolio in the unity government lead by Yitzhak Shamir and in 1990 he served as a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. In 1992 he served as deputy defense minister in Yitzhak Rabin's second government.

He committed suicide in his home because of his terminal illness on July 16, 1995.